Every general manager on every NFL team says “We want to build through the draft.”
That’s because major trades in the NFL are rare and because free agency is an expensive investment that often does not net the buyer a fair return.
Nevertheless, free agency is upon us, and the Browns will have a truck-stop load of Jimmy Haslam’s money to spend when the new league year begins at 4 p.m. on March 11.
The Browns are $56.9 million under the salary cap of $133 million, according to Overthecap.com.
Teams can start negotiating with free agents on March 8 but cannot sign a player until March 11.
Need and availability do not always intersect in free agency. the Browns need a quarterback, but free agency is not the place to find one this year.
Some holes can be filled in free agency, though. The Browns need a guard, a cornerback, a running back, at least one inside linebacker, and a wide receiver plus a safety.
Following is a breakdown of the free agents who could fill some of those positions.Guard: Zane Beadles, Denver Broncos, 27 years old; Geoff Schwartz, Kansas City Chiefs, 28; Jon Asamoah, Chiefs, 26; Chad Rinehart, San Diego Chargers, 29.
Beadles could be a perfect fit for the Browns. He started all 16 games each of the last three seasons for the Broncos and was the starting left guard in the Super Bowl. He is 6-foot-4, 310 pounds, and is comfortable in the zone blocking Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan wants to use.
Geoff Schwartz is the brother of Browns right tackle Mitchell Schwartz. The Chiefs do not want to lose both Schwartz and Asamoah. Asamoah started nine games last season. Schwartz started seven. Asamoah is considered to have a higher upside because he has played only four seasons. He started 15 games in 2011 and 16 in 2012. The Chiefs depth chart lists Asamoah as the starting right guard. Schwartz is listed as the backup right tackle, but he has started at guard in his career. The Browns are set at tackle with Joe Thomas on the left side and Mitchell Schwartz on the right.
Rhinehart, 6-foot-5, 321 pounds, played with the Redskins two years and the Bills two years before signing with San Diego last year. He has never been a full-time starter. He played in 11 games last year with 10 starts.Cornerbacks: Alterraun Verner, Tennessee Titans, 25 years old; Sam Shields, Green Bay Packers, 26; Vontae Davis, Indianapolis Colts, 25; Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, Denver Broncos, 27; Walter Thurmond, Seattle Seahawks, 25.
Joe Haden’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is going to watch this closely. Rosenhaus and the Browns have begun negotiations to extend Haden, who will be in the final year of his rookie contract in 2014.
The Browns need a starting right cornerback so they could move Buster Skrine inside to play nickel back.
Verner is the big prize, and he plays right cornerback. He made the Pro Bowl after the 2013 season. He made 57 tackles and had five interceptions. At 25 he is entering the prime of his career. It might take $10 million a year to land him.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported Shields could be headed to the Browns. Shields, another right cornerback, reportedly rejected an offer of $6 million a year from Green Bay. Shields played in 14 games in 2013. He made 61 tackles, intercepted four passes and had 16 pass break-ups.
The Colts are making re-signing Davis a priority, and he says he wants to stay in Indianapolis, but players are often more loyal to their bank account than a team. Davis, also a right corner, started 16 games last year and made 46 tackles. He intercepted one pass and broke up 12 others.
Rodgers-Cromartie wants to stay in Denver, and the Broncos want him back. But as with Davis, money talks. Rodgers-Cromartie made $5 million last year. He played in 15 games and made 31 tackles. He intercepted three passes and broke up 14.
Thurmond was suspended four games in 2013 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He played in 12 games He started as the nickel back in the Super Bowl because the Broncos were in a three-receiver set.
Aqib Talib of the Patriots is not on this list. He is 28 and reportedly is seeking a contract in their neighborhood of $32 million for four years.Running backs: Knowshon Moreno, Broncos, 26; Ben Tate, Texans, 25; Donald Brown, Colts, 26.
The Browns desperately need a starting running back. They were without one last year after trading Trent Richardson on Sept 18.
The Broncos want to get younger at running back and plan to move on without Moreno. He could be a good addition if the Browns believe he has tread left on his tires. He carried the ball 241 times last year for 1,038 yards and caught 60 passes for 548 yards. Twenty-nine of his catches and 53 of his carries resulted in first downs.
Tate started only nine games for the Texans in three years. That’s a good thing for a team looking for a running back. He did not average less than 4.3 yards a carry in any of those three years. He carried the ball 181 times for 771 yards in Houston’s abysmal 2013 season.
Brown averaged 5.3 yards a try on 102 carries (531 yards) in 2013, but Richardson and Vic Ballard are under contract. Brown would be a good fit for a team looking to use a running back 1 and 1A tandem.Inside linebacker: Brandon Spikes, New England Patriots, 26; Jon Beason, New York Giants, 25; Arthur Moats, 25.
This is one of the weakest segments of free agency. Unfortunately for the Browns, it is one of their deepest needs.
The Patriots have made no effort to re-sign Spikes. When Bill Belichick gives up on a player, it should be a sign for other teams to stay away, or to at least be cautious. The book on Spikes is he is a solid run defender but not great against the pass.
Beason had knee and Achilles injuries in 2011 and 2012, but the Giants acquired him in a trade with Carolina, and he bolstered their defense. They want to re-sign him before free agency begins.
Swapping D’Qwell Jackson for Moats would not be an even trade for the Browns. Moats made 54 tackles for the Bills, but Pettine was his defensive coordinator last year, so don’t rule out signing Moats.Wide receiver: Eric Decker, Broncos, 26; Emmanuel Sanders, Pittsburgh Steelers, 26; Golden Tate, Seahawks, 25; Hakeem Nicks, Giants, 26.
The Browns need a receiver to complement Josh Gordon. That means finding somebody content with being the No. 2 receiver on a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2002.
Decker caught 87 passes last year — and that was second on the team to the 92 passes caught by Demaryius Thomas. A team considering signing Decker, though, would have to decide if he would be as productive with a quarterback other than Peyton Manning throwing to him.
Sanders, another player entering his fifth season, was second among Steelers receivers with 65 catches. Antonio Brown led the AFC with 110. If the Browns signed Sanders, they would improve their team and weaken the Steelers, who are content to replace Sanders with 2013 third-round draft pick Markus Wheaton. The Jets are reportedly eager to sign Sanders.
Tate led the Seahawks with 64 catches for 898 yards and five touchdowns. The team signing him would be getting a punt returner in the bargain.
The Browns lost their punt returner for the season last year when Travis Benjamin was injured in the game in Kansas City. Benjamin is working hard on his rehab, but Pettine might think twice about throwing Benjamin out on punt return again at least early in 2014.
Nicks might be a player a team would sign for one year. He caught 56 passes as the caddy for Victor Cruz last year while playing in 15 games. Nicks had 17 touchdown catches in his first two seasons, seven his third year and, as fantasy team owners would testify, only three in 2012 and none last year. He would not be a major upgrade over Greg Little, but Decker, Sanders or Tate would be.Safeties: Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills, 27; T.J. Ward, Cleveland Browns, 27; Donte Whitner, San Francisco 49ers, 28; Louis Delmas, Detroit Lions, 26.
The Browns chose to use the transition tag on center Alex Mack, which means they have no hold on Ward. Byrd and Mack are considered the cream of the crop and among the best free agents overall.
Byrd is better in coverage. Ward is a better run defender. Ward said he is open to returning to the Browns, but it would be no surprise if he is overwhelmed by another offer early and decides to take it.
The Bills want to re-sign Byrd, who recently rejected an offer that would have paid him $30 million over the first three years of the contract.
The Eagles need safety help. Their head coach, Chip Kelly, was the head coach at Oregon when Ward was a senior there. Byrd is also an Oregon product. Kelly was the Ducks’ offensive coordinator when Byrd played there.
Whitner, a Cleveland native, would be a solid addition to the secondary if the Browns miss out on Byrd and Ward. He played in 16 games with the 49ers last year and registered 73 tackles with two interceptions. On Oct. 3, Whitner announced he was changing his name to “Hitner” because he is such a ferocious tackler.
Delmas was released by the Lions on Feb. 13. He visited the Dolphins on March 3 but left without a contract. He has drawn interest from the Saints and Falcons, but it is noteworthy he has been a free agent for three weeks and has not been signed. With free agency about to start he’ll get pushed back further in line.
Delmas played in 16 games in 2013 and made 64 tackles with three interceptions.

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About the Author

Jeff has covered the Cleveland Browns since 1981. He also covers the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League and the Cleveland Gladiators in the Arena Football League. Reach the author at jschudel@news-herald.com
or follow Jeff on Twitter: @jsbrownsinsider.